Drug User on Probation for Trafficking Stolen Weapons Found in Possession of .45 Caliber Pistol Sentenced to Federal Prison

A man who was riding as a passenger in a vehicle which was shot at in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and found in possession of a .45 caliber pistol, was sentenced today to two years in federal prison.

Darrell Morrow, age 20, from Rock Island, Illinois, received the prison term after an October 14, 2021 guilty plea to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

At the guilty plea, Morrow admitted that on October 5, 2020, he knowingly possessed a .45 caliber Springfield pistol. At the time he possessed the pistol, he had previously been convicted of trafficking in stolen weapons in Linn County, Iowa, in 2019 and was an unlawful user of a controlled substance. At sentencing, the evidence showed that Morrow was riding in a vehicle in Cedar Rapids which was riddled with gunfire. He was transported to the hospital due to injuries and law enforcement officers found his stolen gun lying near the crashed vehicle. Morrow's social media accounts showed a history of firearms and narcotic use.

Morrow was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Morrow was sentenced to 24 months' imprisonment and fined $100. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Morrow is being held in the United States Marshal's custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Liz Dupuich and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Safe Streets Task Force. The task force is composed of representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice's violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 21-CR-0055.

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